Another great piece detailing ways to work as an ally (VERB) with communities in which you have privilege.

“Fact: you are the children and grandchildren of oppressed people who seen our lands as means to escape their own oppressive imperialistic leaders. They came and they used racism and religion as the catalyst for the wholesale slaughter of the native peoples. There is a responsibility in this knowledge to do something. More than acknowledgement and more than rallies or marches. Real tangible ways to create meaningful relationships to us and to the land is what the next step in our struggle is.”

This is a great list of some of the issues surrounding the ally industrial complex and claiming ally as an identity. Ally is a VERB. You must be allying, in action, and in ways that are called for my the community you are seeking to ‘help’.

” It’s hard to be the friend of an infertile, but you are not the victim. It’s really not about you, so don’t make it that way. Infertiles are trying desperately to live in a fertile world, and it can be hard even to get out of bed each day. Those going through infertility treatments experience similar rates of depression as those being treated for cancer. In most cases infertility is not life-threatening, but it sure as hell affects your quality of life.
I promise you, these people have thought more than most about what it means to become a parent. A child conceived through infertility treatments is appreciated and loved just as much as, if not more than, a child conceived any other way.”

These are some great suggestions. Hubby and I are just now slowly making our struggle public and this would be helpful with a lot of the of the cuff advise we get from friends and family (and strangers) that just want to help.
Anyone else having this issue? Any suggestions for coping?

“I am challenging white people to consider carefully whether failing to speak out or act because of those fears is justified when white silence and inaction mean the oppression and death of black people.”

Not the best language in terms of ally as an identity, but otherwise some very good points.

“What’s even more important is that outcomes happen externally. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t mean to hit that bunny with your car, you did. You were a well-intentioned driver and now you have a dead bunny. What are you going to do about it? You can try to adjust your driving (pay more attention, drive slower, etc.), or you can blame the bunny (shouldn’t’ve been there). In either case, it happened, regardless of your intentions, and now you get to choose how to move on.”

I highly recommend checking out the entire piece by Samuel Killermann HERE in full!